Gewiss–Ballan was an Italian-based

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

team active from 1993 to 1997, named after the Italian electrical engineering company Gewiss. The team was successful in the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

and the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

as well as several classics during the early 1990s.

History

The team was sponsored by the Mecair company and the Italian maker of garage doors Ballan in 1993. The Italian

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

company Gewiss took over as the main sponsor in 1994. Gewiss had previously sponsored the

Bianchi cycling team Bianchi was an Italian professional cycling team that was sponsored by and cycled on Bianchi Bicycles. A Bianchi cycling team existed in 1899 which implies that Bianchi was sponsoring professional cycling at a very early stage in the sport. It ...

from 1987 to 1989. In 1996 the second sponsor was taken by the Gewiss brand Playbus. Directeur sportifs with the team included Emanuele Bombini and

Paolo Rosola Paolo Rosola (born 5 February 1957) is an Italian racing cyclist. Major results ;1981 :1st Stage 2 Giro d'Italia ;1983 :Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 3, 15 & 18 ;1984 :1st Stage 12 Giro d'Italia :1st Milano–Torino :4th Milan–San Remo ;1985 :1 ...

. In the four years of its existence, the team achieved great successes. The team produced winners of the Giro d'Italia –

Evgeni Berzin Evgeni Valentinovich Berzin (; born 3 June 1970) is a Russian former road cyclist. Coming from track cycling, where he successfully represented the Soviet Union at World Championships, he moved to Italy in 1992 and turned professional with in ...

and

Ivan Gotti Ivan Gotti (born 28 March 1969) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. Gotti was born at San Pellegrino Terme, Lombardy. He first came to prominence by finishing 5th overall in the 1995 Tour de France. The highlights of his career ...

as well as top classic specialists

Giorgio Furlan Giorgio Furlan (born 9 March 1966 in Treviso) is an Italian people, Italian former road bicycle racer, who currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team . Major results ;1986 : 1st Trofeo Gianfranco Bianchin : 1st Giro del Med ...

and

Nicola Minali Nicola Minali (born 10 November 1969 in Isola della Scala, Veneto) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. He won a total of twelve stages in Grand Tours, including the prestigious Champs-Élysées stage in 1997 Tour de France. He also won the ...

. Former World Champion

Moreno Argentin Moreno Argentin (born 17 December 1960) is an Italian former professional cycle sport, cyclist (from 1981 to 1994) and race director. Born in San Donà di Piave (Veneto), Argentin won stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia, and the Tou ...

finished his career with the team on a high note with stage wins at the

1993 Giro d'Italia The 1993 Giro d'Italia, (), was the 76th edition of the race. It started off in Porto Azzurro on 23 May with a split stage, with the first leg being a mass-start stage and the latter an individual time trial. The race ended on 13 June with ...

as well as the impressive win at

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

in 1994. The team dominated cycling during the 1994 season with Giorgio Furlan winning

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

(and Berzin second overall) and Furlan winning

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

. Berzin then won

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

which was followed by Argentin's win in

. The win in the Fleche Wallonne was impressive because the team completely dominated the race with taking all podium places at the race with Argentin, Furlan and Berzin ahead of many greats of cycling at the time including

Claudio Chiappucci Claudio Chiappucci (born 28 February 1963 in Uboldo, Varese, Lombardy) is a retired Italian professional cyclist. He was on the podium three times in the Tour de France general classification: second in 1990, third in 1991 and second again in 19 ...

Franco Ballerini Franco Ballerini (11 December 1964 – 7 February 2010) was an Italian road racing cyclist. Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling tea ...

Davide Cassani Davide Cassani (born 1 January 1961) is a former road cyclist and cycling commentator on Italian television from Italy. He was manager for Italy national cycling team. He was born in Faenza. In 1982 he made his professional debut with Termolan ...

and

Gianni Bugno Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italy, Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Mi ...

. After the Fleche Wallonne of 1994, French sports newspaper ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'' interviewed the team's doctor

Michele Ferrari Michele Ferrari (born 26 March 1953) is an Italian physician, cycling coach and author, who is mostly known for his role in supplying bicycle racers with performance-enhancing drugs, notably EPO. His most famous client was Lance Armstrong. Biog ...

. Journalist Jean-Michel Rouet asked Ferrari if his riders used EPO to which Ferrari denied prescribing the drug but said he would not find it wrong, saying that it was not dangerous and compared taking EPO to drinking orange juice. This remark generated controversy and Ferrari later stepped down as team doctor. Afterwards Berzin won the

1994 Giro d'Italia The 1994 Giro d'Italia was the 77th edition of the race. The Giro started off in Bologna on 22 May with a short stage. The race came to a close on 12 June with a flat stage that stretched from Turin to Milan. Seventeen teams entered the ra ...

while

Piotr Ugrumov Piotr Ugrumov ( Latvian: ''Pēteris Ugrjumovs'' or ''Pjotrs Ugrjumovs'', Russian: Пётр Угрюмов) (born 21 January 1961) is a former Russian-Latvian professional road racing cyclist who participated for Latvia after the dissolution of the ...

came second overall in

1994 Tour de France The 1994 Tour de France was the 81st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Tour began on 2 July with a prologue around the French city Lille. After 21 more days of racing, the Tour came to a close on the street of the ...

. Vladislav Bobrik won the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

in the late season for the team. In the following year, the team was not as dominant but still successful. Berzin came second at the

1995 Giro d'Italia The 1995 Giro d'Italia took place in May and June 1995. It was the 78th edition of Giro d'Italia, the event. The Giro began on 13 May with a stage that began in Perugia and ended Terni. The race came to a close on 4 June with a stage that end ...

behind

Tony Rominger Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995. Career He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition with his br ...

and ahead of his teammate Ugrumov. The team set the record speed of the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

at the

1995 Tour de France The 1995 Tour de France was the 82nd Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 23 July. It was Miguel Induráin's fifth and final victory in the Tour. On the fifteenth stage Italian rider Fabio Casartelli died after an accident on the Col de Portet ...

of 54.930 km/h. This speed stood for ten years until

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

's Discovery Channel Team broke it during the

2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance . It has no overall winner—although American cyclist ...

. The Gewiss team beat

Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert (born 30 November 1968) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as ''"Jaja"'' (slang for a glass of wine; when he continued drinking wine as a professional, the nickname stuck ...

Team ONCE ONCE cycling team, () also known as Liberty Seguros, Liberty Seguros–Würth and in succession in its final year, Astana–Würth and Astana was a Spanish cycling team. It road bicycle racing, competed in the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI U ...

to second place and the defending champion

Miguel Induráin Miguel Induráin Larraya (; born 16 July 1964) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. Induráin won five Tours de France from 1991 Tour de France, 1991 to 1995 Tour de France, 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five- ...

Banesto Banco Español de Crédito, S.A. (), “Spanish Credit Bank”) better known as Banesto, was a Spanish multinational financial services company. Prior to the Spanish Government's historical intervention in 1993, the first in the history of bank ...

to third place. Riis would wear the yellow jersey as leader of the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...

in that year's Tour before eventually finishing third overall.

Doping

Systematic doping

The team is well known due to systematic doping that occurred with the team. The team doctor,

was an assistant of Professor Francesco Conconi at the Biomedical Institute at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara () is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of ...

in Italy. Conconi together with his assistants is said to have introduced

erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

(EPO) to the sport of cycling. On 11 January 1999

Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

aired The Price of Silence in Denmark, the first of a three part series that detailed doping in cycling of the

and Gewiss teams. The programme alleged that EPO was used by the Gewiss–Ballan team in 1995. The journalists had come into possession of papers of hematocrit levels of riders of the team which showed large fluctuations from normal levels to those indicating doping. These figures would later be published in L’Equipe (discussed below). In addition the documentary told of how during the Tour of Denmark on 4 August 1995 journalists made a doping find in a hotel room where the soigneur of Gewiss Paolo Ganzerli had slept the night before. Six riders of the team had also stayed in the hotel on that night of 3 August 1995. The journalists found a Gewiss bag filled with 12 used and bloodied needles, an ampule which according to its label contained Recomon 5000 (EPO) and three blank ampules of which subsequent tests revealed contained EPO. Further revelations about systematic doping on the team were published in the Italian newspaper ''

La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...

'' and the French sports paper ''L'Équipe'' in 1999. These were based on published writing from journalist Eugenio Capodacqua from the Italian daily newspaper ''La Repubblica''. Capodacqua published blood values (

hematocrit The hematocrit () (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is nor ...

levels) from Gewiss riders and results of an investigation into the team and its doctor

. On 12 March 1999 ''L'Equipe'' published a table of hematocrit levels of Gewiss riders that were taken from December 1994 to May 1995. This was before the UCI limit of a hematocrit level of 50% which came into effect in 1997.

Bjarne Riis Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed ''The Eagle from Herning'' (), is a Denmark, Danish former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France. For many years he was the owner and later manager of the Oleg Tink ...

rode for the team at the time and his levels went from 41.1 to 56.3, Gotti from 40.7 to 57 and Berzin from 41.7 to 53. Ugrumov had the highest level at 60%. Riis immediately denied the validity of the figures. Riis's hematocrit level of 41.1%, in a test conducted on 14 January 1995, was a normal value for an adult male while six months later on 10 July 1995, several days after Riis wore the yellow jersey as leader of the

for the first time at the

, his level was 56.3%. Another doctor of the team, Dr. Gianni Mazzoni, was in a separate case, accused of promoting doping in sports.

Hematocrit variations 1994 to 1995

These are the published hematocrit variations (in percentage) of Gewiss riders in 1994 and 1995.

Cyclists

Many well known and successful cyclists rode for Gewiss: *

(1993–1994) *

Eugeni Berzin Evgeni Valentinovich Berzin (; born 3 June 1970) is a Russian former road cyclist. Coming from track cycling, where he successfully represented the Soviet Union at World Championships, he moved to Italy in 1992 and turned professional with in ...

(1993–1996) * Vladislav Bobrik (1993–1996) *

Guido Bontempi Guido Bontempi (born 12 January 1960 in Gussago) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. Bontempi's career highlights include winning the spring's classic Gent–Wevelgem two times (1984 and 1986) and a total of 16 stages in the Giro d'Italia th ...

(1994–1995) *

Bruno Cenghialta Bruno Cenghialta (born 5 December 1962) is a retired Italian professional road bicycle racer. Cenghialta was born at Montecchio Maggiore. After his cycling career, Cenghialta became directeur sportif. From 2006 Cenghialta was directeur sportif ...

(1994–1996) *

Gabriele Colombo Gabriele Colombo (born 11 May 1972 in Varese) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He won the Milan–San Remo in 1996. Major results ;1994 :3rd GP Lugano ;1995 :1st Stage 3 ( TTT) Tour de France :3rd Overall Vuelta a Burgos :: ...

(1994–1996) *

(1994–1995) *

(1995–1996) *

Andreas Kappes Andreas Kappes (23 December 1965 – 31 July 2018) was a German cyclist, who was a professional from 1987 to 2009, active on the road and on the track, collecting in total 133 wins, and, as an amateur, represented West Germany at the 1984 Summer ...

(1993) *

(1993–1996) *

(1994–1995) *

(1993–1996) *

Stefano Zanini Stefano Zanini (born 23 January 1969 in Varese, Lombardy) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, the leadout man for Liquigas-Bianchi in 2006, after riding for Mapei, , and Quick-Step. His palmares include the Milano–Torino of ...

(1995–1996)

Major wins

;1993 : Stage 6

Tour Méditerranéen Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

: Stage 2 Driedaagse van De Panne,

: Stage 2

Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda The Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda () was an Italian cycle road race. In 2007, the race was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2 ...

, Vladislav Bobrik : Stage 5

: Stages 1a & 13

: Stage 3

Wincanton Classic Wincanton Classic (also known as Leeds International Classic and Rochester International Classic) was a cycling classic taking place in the United Kingdom as part of the UCI Road World Cup. It was first held in 1989 in Newcastle, moving to Brigh ...

Alberto Volpi Alberto Volpi (born 9 December 1962) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. He competed in the individual road race event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He formerly worked as a directeur sportif at Barloworld cycling team. Since 2024 he is th ...

: Linz Criterium,

;1994 : Stage 2 Settimana Siciliana,

: Ferla,

Overall

::Stages 2, 6 & 7,

: Stage 2 Setmana Catalana de Ciclismo,

Overall

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day Stage (bicycle race), bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in ...

::Stage 2,

::Stage 3,

: Stage 1

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: Stages 2 & 5

Overall

Young rider classification,

::Stage 2,

::Stages 4, 8 & 18,

: National Time Trial Championships,

: Stage 5

: Stage 13

: Stage 18 & 19

Profronde van Stiphout Profronde van Stiphout (), also known as Bavaria Profronde Stiphout due to sponsorship reasons is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Stiphout, Netherlands. The first edition was in 1980 and since 2001 ...

: Lamballe Criterium,

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020. In 1 ...

: Stage 3b

Ronde van Nederland The Tour of the Netherlands ''(Dutch: Ronde van Nederland)'' was a road bicycle racing stage-race in the Netherlands, founded in 1948 in sports, 1948. It was an annual race since 1975 in sports, 1975. Because of the start of the Union Cycliste ...

, Dario Bottaro :

, Vladislav Bobrik ;1995 : Stage 3

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

: Stage 8b

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

, Vladislav Bobrik : Jersey red

Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclismo,

Francesco Frattini Francesco Frattini (born 18 January 1967, in Varese) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. Major results ;1995 :1st, Rund um den Henninger-Turm :1st, Stage 6, Bicicleta Vasca :1st, Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme ::1st, Stage 3 ;1996 :1st, Sta ...

::Stages 2, 4 & 5a,

::Stage 3,

Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop Eschborn–Frankfurt, previously Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt, is an annual semi classic cycling race in Germany, starting in Eschborn and finishing in Frankfurt. The event, sometimes referred to as the Frankfurt Grand Prix, is held annua ...

: Stage 6

: Stage 21

: Stage 2

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

: National Road Race Championships,

: Stage 3

(TTT) :

Overall

Post Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish multi-day professional road cycling race. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostNord Danmark Rundt. The race is sometimes called the Tour ...

::Stage 1,

::Stage 3b,

::Stages 4 & 6,

: Stages 1, 6 & 11

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

;1996 :

: Stage 5a Setmana Catalana de Ciclismo,

Overall

Giro di Sardegna Giro di Sardegna (Tour of Sardinia) was a stage road bicycle race held on the island of Sardinia, an Italian region. It was rated 2.1 on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were ...

: Stage 3 Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco,

: Stage 4 Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco,

Amstel Gold Race Amstel Gold Race may refer to: * Amstel Gold Race (men's race) The Amstel Gold Race is a one-day classic cycle races, classic road bicycle race, road cycling race held annually since 1966 Amstel Gold Race, 1966 in the province of Limburg (Netherl ...

: Stage 19

: Stage 21

: Prologue & Stage 8

: Stage 8

: Stage 5

: Stages 2, 8, 9 & 16

: Stage 1 Boland Bank Tour,

;1997 : Stage 1

: Stages 1 & 4

Volta ao Alentejo The Volta ao Alentejo ( Portuguese; ) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Alentejo, Portugal. Since 2010, it has been organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ...

: Stage 3

: Overall

Grande Prémio 'Jornal de Notícias' Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places *Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroio ...

::Stages 1 & 2,

: Stage 4 & 21

: Stage 1

: Stage 5

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...

, Simone Bertoletti : Stage 3

Giro di Puglia The Giro di Puglia () was a road bicycle racing stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a racing, race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day race, mult ...

Supplementary statistics

Source:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gewiss-Ballan Defunct cycling teams based in Italy Cycling teams established in 1993 Cycling teams disestablished in 1996

History

Doping

Systematic doping

Hematocrit variations 1994 to 1995

Cyclists

Major wins

Supplementary statistics

See also

References

External links